Current Workgroups

Standing SCHSAC
Workgroups

Office of Performance Improvement (OPI)

DP&C Common Activities Framework
Ad Hoc Group

Charge

The SCHSAC DP&C Common Activities Ad Hoc Review Group will:

Review the activities in the DP&C Common Activities framework.
Examine the National Public Health Accreditation Standards.
Align the Framework with the national accreditation standards.
Make recommendations for distribution, training and technical assistance.

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Background

Infectious disease prevention and control (DP&C) includes activities of detecting acute and communicable diseases, developing and implementing prevention of disease transmission, and implementing control measures during outbreaks. Controlling communicable diseases is perhaps the oldest and most fundamental public health responsibility. Yet, the Local Public Health Act (Minn. Stat. § 145A) and the Department of Health Act (Minn. Stat. § 144) are ambiguous about respective state and local authorities for conducting disease prevention and control activities.

In 1989, the MDH DP&C Division and SCHSAC formed a workgroup to review roles and responsibilities for conducting disease prevention and control activities at the state and local levels. The outcome was a disease prevention and control cooperative agreement that formalized some of MDH relationships with local public health.

In 1996, another SCHSAC workgroup was formed, which abolished the old agreement and redefined expected roles and responsibilities for disease prevention and control. The final report of the workgroup was approved and released in 1998. This report set standards for disease prevention and control activities to be carried out at the state and local levels in the Communicable DP&C Framework of Common Activities. It also listed suggested activities for private health care providers and health plans in support of public health efforts in the areas of disease prevention and control.

This framework lays out a minimum set of disease prevention and control activities that are to be carried out by all local public health agencies and MDH. These activities are to be reflected in state and local community health assessment and planning efforts. Those agencies that are currently unable to carry out these activities are expected to strive to increase their capacities to do so. MDH activities listed in the framework are to be implemented by MDH Infectious Disease Epidemiology Prevention and Control (IDEPC) Division staff in support of local public health agency disease prevention and control activities. This framework also lists disease prevention and control activities that are conducted jointly by MDH and local public health agencies.

In the fall of 2011, the national voluntary accreditation program began. MDH as well as some community health boards are striving to become accredited in the next few years. As this is an important document, used in planning disease prevention and control activities for both CHBs and MDH, it should be examined and if needed aligned with the voluntary national accreditation standards.

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Methods

A SCHSAC Ad Hoc review group will meet two or three times to review and revise the framework to bring it into alignment with the voluntary national accreditation standards.

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Resources

MDH staff with expertise in disease prevention and control will serve as the primary resource for this work, with assistance from the MDH Office of Performance Improvement.

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Members

Local Public Health

Fred Anderson, Washington County Community Health Board
Renee Frauendienst, Stearns Community Health Board
Gloria Tobias, Countryside Community Health Board

Minnesota Department of Health

Linda Bauck, Office of Performance Improvement
Kris Ehresmann, Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control (IDEPC) Division
Amy Westbrook, IDEPC Division
Claudia Miller, IDEPC Division
Terry Ristinen, IDEPC Division